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Gaius Sextus
Gaius Sextus is the First Lord of Alera for most of the duration of the Codex. The father of Gaius Septimus and grandfather of Tavi, he married Caria after Septimus' mother died. Sextus is in his eighties at the outset of ''Furies of Calderon'', and is dark of hair and green of eye. Furycrafting Gaius Sextus is the First Lord and arguably the strongest Furycrafter in Alera. As the First Lord Sextus is granted power over furies his ancestors have passed down to him in addition to his innate powers of furycraft. He is also given contact with Alera, who has interacted with the Gaius bloodline for generations. Earthcrafting Sextus does not frequently display his ability to earthcraft , but his few demonstrations of the craft show his range of power. He is delicate and precise enough to easily rearrange the furyborne tiles in his study to map out sections of Alera. He is also powerful enough to crack the earth in massive fissures and cause magma to flow forth from the depths. He does not demonstrate earthfury assisted strength very often, but in his old age he likely uses it frequently to keep himself upright. Firecrafting Sextus has great power in firecrafting, showing considerable ability in most forms of the craft. He can set his sword aflame, create white-hot spheres of fire, and summon eagles of flame to attack and disrupt enemies. The eagles he forms from fire and magma are the closest representation of a manifested fury that Sextus displays. He often colors his flames in the hues of his house, the blue and scarlet of House Gaius. Metalcrafting Because of the immense power of his furycraft and his frail body Sextus does not engage in hand-to-hand combat often. As a result little of his swordfighting is shown, but it can be assumed through his other feats of metalcraft that he is very skilled in using his metalcraft to enhance his swordplay. Sextus frequently uses metalcraft to dull the pain of his aging and aching body, and relies on it nearly constantly as his health wanes. Sextus can sense and control of metal over a large area, and once crushed the necks of over 100 of Kalarus' slave soldiers simultaneously by constricting their slave collars (he does mention that he was only able to do this because all of the collars were made from the same batch). He is also one of only two characters in the series to have the ability to coat his skin in a layer of metal armor (the other being Araris Valerian). Watercrafting Sextus is a very strong and skilled watercrafter. He makes use of his watercrafting throughout the series to send messages throughout the rivers and lakes of Alera, and can sense activity around most of the waters that run through the land. He gives his Cursors special silver coins that when tossed into Aleran water contact him and open a communication line with the First Lord. Because of his strong watercrafting Gaius appears much younger than he should. He is in his 80s for much of the series but appears as a man in his late 40s. Despite his skill the facade does fade as his health deteriorates. On a few occasions Sextus shows his ability to change his appearance through his watercaft, modifying his appearance so he can walk the streets of Alera Imperia without being recognized. Windcrafting When flying with Sextus on a covert mission Amara describes Sextus's windcrafting as immense compared to her own. Sextus can use his windcraft to fly at high speeds and can move enough air to carry several others along with him in his flights. He can project a very large farseeing, once maintaining a farseeing across an entire balcony on his tower in Alera Imperia to enhance the image of the battle raging at the city's walls. He can craft a windcrafted veil so fine that he can stand among a group of people, including strong windcrafters like Amara, without being noticed. Sextus has shown control over lightning that no other crafter can rival. While most windcrafters must harness lightning brewing in storm clouds Sextus can summon strikes of lighting at will, even shooting bolts from his fingers at enemies in relatively close range. Sextus can craft the weather with relative ease, and does so fairly frequently throughout the series. He is able to use his windcraft to weaken storms and hurricanes from great distances to control the damage the storms cause to Aleran shores. Woodcrafting Sextus does not display his woodcrafting skills often, but it can be assumed he is a very competent woodcrafter in most forms of the craft. Great Furycrafting As the First Lord of Alera Gaius Sextus has control over several of the legendary Great Furies. On two occasions he has detonated great volcano furies to engulf his enemies in fire, brimstone, and magma. ''Furies of Calderon'' Sextus is informed by Amara of Fidelias' betrayal during the opening events of Furies Of Calderon. In response, he orders her to the Calderon Valley to continue in her investigation. After the Battle of Second Calderon, Sextus arrives in the valley, where he appoints Bernard to the position of Count Calderon and makes Isana a steadholder. He also gives Tavi the reward of patronage to the Academy in Alera. Academ's Fury Gaius takes Tavi as part of his patronage. Sextus tries to combat the Canim ritualists storms sent towards Alera's western coasts. Later he collapses and falls into a coma due to the strain of fury crafting too much and the added stress and pressure of facing his political enemies at Wintersend. Quotes "Feh. Aquitaine thinks me his enemy. The fool. If I truly hated him, I'd give him the Crown." -Quote from Gaius Sextus, Princeps' Fury,Chapter 8. Trivia The Gaius family has been the Crown family of Alera for many generations, with Gaius Sextus being the sixth of his line. The Gaius family follows a very simple naming convention, following a numeric sequence. For example, Sextus is a Latin boy's name meaning 'sixth'; Septimus means 'seventh', etc.Category:Characters Category:High Lords and Ladies